Most Starts

Another set of stats, this time the most starts for Sporting KC in league play and in all competitions.

In league play one new player joined the list in 2016, Benny Feilhaber hit 100 starts in league play. Elsewhere on  the list, Matt Besler moved into sixth place and should become the fifth player to hit 200 league starts for KC in 2017. In fact, if Besler happens to start all 34 league games for KC in 2017 (something he hasn't done in his career) he would tie Kerry Zavagnin for the most starts in league play in KC's history. More likely he ends the 2017 season in third place and makes his run on number one in 2018. Joining the list in 2017, there is only one player with a shot at that, that's Dom Dwyer, who is just three starts away from joining the list.

Kerry Zavagnin - 228
Nick Garcia - 224
Davy Arnaud - 213
Jimmy Conrad - 203
Preki - 199
Matt Besler - 194
Chris Klein - 183
Graham Zusi - 155
Jack Jewsbury - 142
Mo Johnston - 142
Roger Espinoza - 140
Seth Sinovic - 128
Jimmy Nielsen - 128
Michael Harrington - 128
Josh Wolff - 128
Matt McKeon - 126
Tony Meola - 125
Chance Myers - 114
Benny Feilhaber - 110
Jose Burciaga - 110
Diego Gutierrez - 108
Uche Okafor - 107
Sean Bowers - 104
Aurelein Collin - 103
Dom Dwyer - 97
Lawrence Olum - 57
Kevin Ellis - 53
Tim Melia - 50
Soni Mustivar - 44
Ike Opara - 39
Saad Abdul-Salaam - 36
Jimmy Medranda - 30
Erik Palmer-Brown - 6
Diego Rubio - 3

Across all competitions in 2016, two players made their 100th start for Kansas City, Dwyer made the list this time, as did Paulo Nagamura, who just got onto the list in his final season as a player. Further up the list, Besler moved all the way up to fourth and should easily be in the top three by the end of 2017, although he'll need another full season to make a good run on Zavagnin at the top of this list. Graham Zusi should become eighth player to start 200 games in all competitions this season. It seems unlikely that someone will join the list in 2017 as the closest are Lawrence Olum and Kevin Ellis who need to start 28 and 29 games respectively to make the list.

Kerry Zavagnin - 281
Nick Garcia - 272
Davy Arnaud - 234
Matt Besler - 231
Preki - 229
Jimmy Conrad - 228
Chris Klein - 216
Graham Zusi - 186
Jack Jewsbury - 162
Roger Espinoza - 160
Seth Sinovic - 160
Matt McKeon - 159
Mo Johnston - 157
Tony Meola - 156
Josh Wolff - 144
Michael Harrington - 143
Jimmy Nielsen - 142
Chance Myers - 139
Diego Gutierrez - 135
Benny Feilhaber - 134
Aurelien Collin - 129
Jose Burciaga - 123
Uche Okafor - 116
Dom Dwyer - 114
Sean Bowers - 113
Kei Kamara - 108
Bo Oshoniyi - 105
Mark Chung - 103
Paulo Nagamura - 102
Sasha Victorine - 102
Kevin Hartman - 100
Lawrence Olum - 72
Kevin Ellis - 71
Tim Melia - 58
Soni Mustivar - 55
Ike Opara - 49
Saad Abdul-Salaam - 42
Jimmy Medranda - 33
Erik Palmer-Brown - 9
Diego Rubio - 7
Cameron Porter - 3
Tyler Pasher - 1
Benji Joya - 1

Most Appearances

More end of season stats, tonight it is appearances for Sporting Kansas City.

In league play, three players joined the list in 2016 with Benny Feilhaber leading the way getting all the way to 120 appearances in 2016. Further up the list, Matt Besler hit 200 appearances in league play for KC, becoming the seventh player to reach 200 appearances for Sporting KC in the club's history. The eighth player to hit that mark should come in 2017 as Graham Zusi is only six appearances away from 200 right now. As for who could join the list in 2017, there is only one player who has a chance, Lawrence Olum is 14 appearances from hitting 100. He'd become the thirty-third player to hit 100 appearances for Sporting KC.

Davy Arnaud - 240
Kerry Zavagnin - 237
Nick Garcia - 224
Preki - 218
Jimmy Conrad - 204
Chris Klein - 200
Matt Besler - 200
Jack Jewsbury - 195
Graham Zusi - 194
Roger Espinoza - 160
Michael Harrington - 149
Mo Johnston - 149
Chance Myers - 147
Josh Wolff - 144
Matt McKeon - 144
Seth Sinovic - 133
Jimmy Nielsen - 128
Tony Meola - 125
Chris Brown - 123
Benny Feilhaber - 120
Diego Gutierrez - 119
Uche Okafor - 119
Jose Burciaga - 115
Francisco Gomez - 114
Kei Kamara - 113
Dom Dwyer - 113
Sean Bowers - 111
CJ Sapong - 110
Jacob Peterson - 108
Aurelien Collin - 107
Sasha Victorine - 106
Digital Takawira - 103
Lawrence Olum - 86
Kevin Ellis - 63
Ike Opara - 52
Saad Abdul-Salaam - 52
Tim Melia - 50
Soni Mustivar - 50
Jimmy Medranda - 41
Diego Rubio - 15
Erik Palmer-Brown - 10
Cameron Porter - 2

Across all competitions, Besler moved into the top five for appearances, hitting 239. He should move into top four in 2017 and close in on a top two position by the end of the season. Elsewhere, Espinoza should become the 10th player to play 200 games in all competitions for Kansas City. In all competitions, Olum was the only player that joined the list in all competitions in 2017 finishing with 105 appearances in all competitions, tying him with Teal Bunbury. As for players who could join the list in 2017, there is only one, Kevin Ellis is 18 appearances away from hitting 100 in all competitions, and the only candidate to join in 2017.

Kerry Zavagnin - 291
Davy Arnaud - 273
Nick Garcia - 273
Preki - 254
Matt Besler - 239
Chris Klein - 235
Jimmy Conrad - 230
Graham Zusi - 227
Jack Jewsbury - 218
Roger Espinoza - 184
Matt McKeon - 183
Chance Myers - 175
Michael Harrington - 170
Mo Johnston - 169
Seth Sinovic - 166
Josh Wolff -165
Tony Meola - 156
Chris Brown - 150
Diego Gutierrez - 147
Benny Feilhaber - 145
CJ Sapong - 142
Jimmy Nielsen - 142
Francisco Gomez - 141
Dom Dwyer - 141
Jacob Peterson - 135
Aurelien Collin - 133
Jose Burciaga - 130
Uche Okafor - 130
Kei Kamara - 126
Sean Bowers - 120
Sasha Victorine - 114
Digital Takawira - 111
Bo Oshoniyi - 110
Paulo Nagamura - 119
Teal Bunbury - 105
Lawrence Olum - 105
Mark Chung - 104
Shavar Thomas - 101
Kevin Hartman - 100
Kevin Ellis - 82
Ike Opara - 64
Saad Abdul-Salaam - 62
Soni Mustivar - 61
Tim Melia - 58
Jimmy Medranda - 46
Diego Rubio - 20
Erik Palmer-Brown - 13
Cameron Porter - 6
Benji Joya - 1
Tyler Pasher - 1

Feilhaber and Zusi Called Up to US National Team

Bruce Arena and US Soccer today announced the roster for this year's January camp that will culminate with friendlies against Serbia and Jamaica. Two Sporting KC players were named to Arena's squad, with Benny Feilhaber finally making his return to the international stage after being frozen out by Jurgen Klinsmann, and Graham Zusi being brought back in a new position at the international level.

Feilhaber received his first international call up since 2014's January camp, where Feilhaber made his last international appearance against South Korea. Despite having an MVP caliber season in 2015 and a solid season in 2016, Feilhaber was not called in by Klinsmann with the former US coach saying there were "others ahead of him." There was obviously not a good relationship between the two, with comments about Feilhaber's work rate being made. Feilhaber though deserved a return to the US team after his play the last two years and will now get the chance to prove it under Arena.

Zusi is listed as a defender on the roster announcement for the camp, something that was hinted at yesterday before the roster came out. He does have experience playing in the right back position for Kansas City, playing there a few times last year, including a performance against Arena's LA Galaxy that earned him a team of the week nod. With the talent coming through in the attack for the US, Zusi's international career as a winger looks like it is coming to an end, but he provides good leadership and is good as a defender on the wing in KC's system. Arena is possibly hoping that Zusi can get a career renaissance at right back, similar to what DeMarcus Beasley has experienced at left back after transitioning from the wing position.

One name not on the roster was Matt Besler, who has been a staple of Klinsmann's US sides since he earned his place in the team. Besler though is still recovering from offseason ankle surgery that kept him from being part of the camp.

10,000 Minute Club

The start of the new year means updating stat information ahead of the 2016 season. First is the 10,000 minute club.

Some changes to this list in 2016, two players joined the list while others moved up. Roger Espinoza joined the list and jumped all the way up to 11th place on the list by the end of the season. He should jump into the top 10 easily in 2017. The other entry was at the very end of the list, where Chance Myers hit the 10,000 minute mark early in 2016 in what appears to be his final season in Kansas City. Further up the list, both Matt Besler and Graham Zusi moved up one spot on the list in 2016. Looking ahead to 2017, Besler has a good chance of jumping all the way up to third on the list, which would put him less than a season away from becoming the club's all time leader in minutes play. Zusi's chances of moving up the list involve him needing to log over 2,000 minutes in 2017, something he hasn't done in the last two seasons. As for players who could make the list in 2017, there are a pair of players. Benny Feilhaber is less than 400 minutes from joining the club and should easily join the list. The second is Dom Dwyer, who sits just over 1,200 minutes from joining the club, he too should easily join the list. Only one other player currently on the roster, Lawrence Olum, is within 5,000 minutes of reaching the list.

1. Kerry Zavagnin - 20,516
2. Nick Garcia - 20,158
3. Davy Arnaud - 19,399
4. Jimmy Conrad - 18,194
5. Preki - 17,818
6. Matt Besler - 17,492
7. Chris Klein - 16,381
8. Graham Zusi - 14,327
9. Jack Jewsbury - 13,275
10. Mo Johnston - 12,600
11. Roger Espinoza - 12,413
12. Michael Harrington - 11,633
13. Matt McKeon - 11,584
14. Jimmy Nielsen - 11,497
15. Josh Wolff - 11,467
16. Tony Meola - 11,331
17. Seth Sinovic - 11,320
18. Chance Myers - 10,519

In all competitions, Feilhaber and Dwyer joined the list in 2016 already, bringing the total in the 10,000 minute club in all competitions up to 24 players. Feilhaber clocked in at 20 and Dwyer at 23, with both in spots where they will move up the list quickly in 2017. Near the top of the list, Besler became the sixth memeber of the 20,000 minute club in 2016 and moved all the way up to fourth place. In 2017 third is his likely finishing spot, getting Nick Garcia and Kerry Zavagnin closer to him, but unlikely to pass. Zusi made no move in 2016, but closed the gap on sixth place Chris Klein and could pass him in 2017. Espinoza was again the big mover on this list, jumping from 20 all the way up to 11th and should be entering the top 10 here in 2017 as well. As for new additions in 2017, unless something surprising happens, and Olum plays about 2,500 minutes in all competitions in 2017, no one will be joining this list next season.

1. Kerry Zavagnin - 25,290
2. Nick Garcia - 24,650
3. Davy Arnaud - 21,607
4. Matt Besler - 20,978
5. Preki - 20,647
6. Jimmy Conrad - 20,551
7. Chris Klein - 19,437
8. Graham Zusi - 17,244
9. Jack Jewsbury - 14,973
10. Matt McKeon - 14,602
11. Roger Espinoza - 14,424
12. Seth Sinovic - 14,289
13. Tony Meola - 14,205
14. Mo Johnston - 14,182
15. Michael Harrington - 13,276
16. Josh Wolff - 12,939
17. Jimmy Nielsen - 12,847
18. Chance Myers - 12,795
19. Diego Gutierrez - 12,246
20. Benny Feilhaber - 11,771
21. Aurelien Collin - 11,464
22. Jose Burciaga - 10,624
23. Dom Dwyer - 10,477
24. Uche Okafor - 10,281

2016 Moments of the Year

One last look back at 2016, here are my end of year awards for moment of the year in 2016.

Game of the year - Comets vs Mustangs 12/3/16 - Shutouts don't happen often in indoor soccer, since the Kansas City Comets rebirth back in 2010, the Comets had never had one. That changed in December of this year when the Comets defeated the previously unbeaten Chicago Mustangs 6-0 at the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. The Comets jumped out to a two goal lead in the first quarter thanks to goals by Ignacio Flores and Lucas Rodriguez. After a scoreless second quarter, Rodriguez scored his second goal of the game off a set piece with a second assist to John Sosa and the Comets were up 3-0.

The Comets extended their lead early in the fourth quarter as Odaine Sinclair scored two minutes in to make it 4-0. Vahid Assadpour added a goal before Ramone Palmer scored with less than a minute left against the sixth attacker to make it 6-0. For his part in goal for the Comets, Stephen Paterson faced 19 shots, saving all of them in route to the shutout.



Goal of the Year - Brad Davis vs Galaxy - When Sporting KC brought in Brad Davis, Sporting was expecting to get another player to help set up goals while scoring a few himself. The assists never really came for Davis in Kansas City, but he did score some important goals for KC early on against LA and Toronto. The one that wins goal of the year is his finish against the LA Galaxy that seemed to even impress him. In the 30th minute of a scoreless game, Graham Zusi headed a long ball into the path of an on-rushing Davis. Davis chased the ball into the box and took a single touch, cutting the ball back that allowed him to beat both Emmanuel Boateng and Jelle Van Damme. With his second touch he curled a beautiful shot with his left foot that curled around goalkeeper Brian Rowe as he dove for the ball, and inside the far post to put Sporting up 1-0 on the Galaxy. Davis didn't have a ton of highlights in his final season of professional soccer, but this was certainly one of them.



Assist of the Year - Benny Feilhaber vs Orlando - I'm cheating just a little bit because it's the secondary assist, but I'm a sucker for Feilhaber's scoop passes. Down 1-0 in the 74th minute, Feilhaber received a ball just outside the top of the box, took a touch and scooped the ball into the box for substitute, Jacob Peterson, who headed the ball back into the middle for Dom Dwyer, who headed the ball in to tie the game at 1-1 in a game KC would eventually win 2-1.



Single Game Performance of the Year - Nicole Barnhart vs Western New York - It wasn't the greatest season for FC Kansas City as they missed out on the playoffs for the first time in their history, but there were some bright spots. From the emergence of Shea Groom, to the return of Desiree Scott, to the defensive performance, FCKC had plenty of highlights. One of those was Nicole Barnart against the Wester New York Flash in July of this year. Playing against the highest scoring team in the league, KC sat a little deeper and absorbed a lot of pressure in the game. That led to a number of opportunities for the Flash. Barnhart though was up to the task, making 14 saves against the Flash in route to a 1-0 win. The performance was enough to earn Barnhart player of the week honors.



Low Point of the Year - Sporting KC vs DC United 5/27 - Heading into the game, at Children's Mercy Park, Sporting KC had won just one game in their last nine after starting the season 3-1. KC had gone 1-6-2 in the nine games priorgoing 1-2-1 at home in that stretch. KC had scored more than one goal just once in that nine game stretch (their only win) and had been shutout three times, scoring just seven goals while allowing 14. Welcoming a DC United team that was 0-2-3 on the road heading into the game. KC completely controlled the game (as KC tends to do in a lot of home games) with 58% of the possession, out shooting DC 18-5, and creating the better of the opportunities. But KC paid for putting just three of their 18 shots on goal as DC United struck late to steal all three points as Alhaji Kamara beat Tim Melia to a ball near the penalty spot, knocking the ball down and then burying his shot into the net as Melia was on the ground after coming for the ball and missing. The 1-0 loss mean that KC had won just one of their last 10, a streak that would turn into 11 games the following week after a 0-0 draw in LA before KC got back to winning against FC Dallas on June 19th.


Non-Kansas City-KC Player Moment of the Year - Matt Besler Scores First International goal - 2016 probably isn't going to go down as the best year in Matt Besler's professional soccer career. He started 2016 as Sporting KC's captain, but then lost it to Roger Espinoza, lost his starting spot with Sporting KC for a time and played the fewest games for his club since his second season as a pro in 2010. It'll still be a memorable year for Besler though as he welcomed his first child.

In early September, Besler had been called up for US national team qualifiers against St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. Besler traveled to the game in St. Vincent and while there heard that his wife was having their first child. Due to travel, Besler was unable to leave to get home in time for the birth of his daughter so instead took the field for the US, starting in central defense for Klinsmann's side. Already up 1-0 in the 32nd minute, Graham Zusi chipped a free kick into the box where a St. Vincent defender cleared the ball right into the path of Besler who chested the ball down and blasted it into the net for his first international goal. He followed it immediately with a celebration with his teammates in honor of his just becoming a father. The US went on to win the game 6-0 and Besler left to be with his family instead of flying to Jacksonville for the second game.



KC Soccer Player of the Year - Amer Didic - No player on the KC soccer scene probably had a better year than Amer Didic did for the Swope Park Rangers and Sporting KC. The Baker product started the season as a bench player for the Rangers, getting garbage minutes at the end of the game to preserve the lead and kill some time off the clock. After a string of three straight losses and a red card to Oumar Ballo, Didic got a start in Swope's 2-1 win over Tulsa and never looked back. He started 21 of the final 24 games in the regular season for SPR and started all four of their playoff games. He formed a strong partnership with Ballo that helped carry the SPR defense to the USL final, going 13-1-2 when paired together, the only loss in the USL final. Didic's play with SPR earned him a call up to Sporting KC where he started three of KC's four CONCACAF Champions League games, the only game he didn't was the final meaningless one, just days before the USL final. Didic has already signed on to return to SPR in 2017 and continued solid performances should see him up with Sporting KC either on a temporary contract or full time soon enough.

Sporting KC Player of the Year - Dom Dwyer - Dwyer had his second most successful season in terms of goal scoring in his career this past season. Take out Dwyer's penalty kicks in 2014 and Dwyer actually scored more goals from the run of play in 2016 than he did in 2014 (16 to 15). This despite not having a secondary threat to really take the pressure off and being on Dwyer Island for long periods of time in the season.

FCKC Player of the Year - Shea Groom - The second year forward had the unevnyable task of having to try to replace the scoring of Amy Rodriguez and Sydney Leroux, who both missed the season. Groom didn't miss a beat though, scoring eight goals for the Blues in 2016, good for fifth in the league. Groom's eight goals were good for 44% of the Blues' offense in the 2016 season. Add in Rodriguez and Leroux in 2017 and the Blues look to have a strong offense.

Comets Player of the Year - Vahid Assadpour - The Comets captain and assistant coach is one of the few remaining players who have been with the Comets since their rebirth in 2010. He finished last season third in the league in points with 23 goals and 27 assists and was a first team all league selection. So far in the 2016-2017 season he has added five goals and four assists, which is fifth on the team in goals and fourth in assists.

Newcomer of the Year - Didic - Didic does the double winning the player of the year award, and winning that it's easy to see why he's also newcomer to professional soccer in Kansas City in 2016. Didic is probably one of the leading candidates to be the next player to make the jump from the Rangers to Sporting KC permanently.

Sporting KC Re-Sign Feilhaber and Opara

Sporting KC was busy today announcing that the club had re-signed two players who had played a large role in the 2016 season. The biggest news belonged to the re-signing of Benny Feilhaber. The news, which had been rumored for the last two days was confirmed with the club announcing that they had signed Feilhaber to a new two year deal with the club. Feilhaber confirmed that he had been ready to move on from Sporting KC, setting his sights on a move to Israel and Hapoel Be'er Sheva before Sporting KC came in with an offer.

Plenty can be said about Peter Vermes tradition of not negotiating new contracts during the season as coach and technical director, in this instance it came close to costing the club arguably their best player over the past two years. Feilhaber, being in the last year of his contract had been free in the final six months of his contract to sign a pre-contract with a new team. Feilhaber though stuck around and Kansas City was able to convince him to stay.

While he's getting a raise from his salary from last year, which was reportedly just over $400,000, Feilhaber will not be a designated player, instead the club will use allocation money to pay down his salary to the maximum salary cap hit. His play over the last two years, with 17 goals and 28 assists in league play is certainly deserving of a raise, and the two year contract is the right amount for Sporting KC with Feilhaber turning 32 before the 2017 season kicks off.

The other signing the team announced today was that the club will be bringing back Ike Opara on a one year deal with two option years. Opara's career has been marred by injuries that have limited his time, but in 2016 he set career highs in games, starts, and minutes played. Depending on what goes on with Nuno Coelho, Opara could be penciled in as the projected starter at center back next to Matt Besler.

The pair signing brings KC up to 10 players currently under contract for the 2017 season, joining Matt Besler, Dom Dwyer, Roger Espinoza, Tim Melia, Soni Mustivar, Cameron Porter, Diego Rubio, and Graham Zusi.

Report: Sporting Set to Re-Sign Feilhaber

Reports tonight should bring some good news to Sporting Kansas City fans as Jeff Carlisle is reporting that Benny Feilhaber is set to spurn offers from abroad and return to Kansas City in 2017. Carlisle reports that while the length of the deal is not known, sources tell him that Feilhaber is set to get a raise to somewhere in the $500,000 to $600,000 range.

That raise in salary would see Feilhaber jump into the designated player range for Kansas City. Sporting at the moment have all three of their designated player spots filled with Roger Espinoza, Diego Rubio, and Graham Zusi. The club also has Matt Besler and Dom Dwyer making over the designated player threshold according to the MLS player union numbers. Obviously if the salary is correct, that means Kansas City is going to likely be paying down someone's salary with GAM/TAM to make room for Feilhaber's new salary or they'll be moving one of their designated players to make room.

To re-sign with Sporting, Feilhaber looks set to turn down an offer from Israel Premier League side, Hapoel Be'er Sheva, the same club that had been interested in acquiring Feilhaber at the European transfer deadline back in September, but Sporting rejected the deal. According to Carlisle, Feilhaber and Be'er Sheva had a verbal agreement on a contract, but a significant raise by Kansas City in their offer convinced Feilhaber to stay in Kansas City.

At the same time, Sam McDowell with the KC Star is throwing a little bit of cold water on the rumor tonight, saying that there is no deal in place or signed.

Feilhaber has enjoyed probably the most successful stretch of his club career with Kansas City, recording 38 assists and 24 goals over his four years in KC. Twenty eight of those assists and 17 of those goals have come in the last two years alone and fueled calls by many fans for Feilhaber's return to the national team.

The big question with any deal for Feilhaber will be the length of the contract. While Feilhaber doesn't have a ton of miles on his legs due to minimal playing time earlier in his career, he still turns 32 before the 2017 season kicks off. The worry has to be about a drop off in production, but given his play over the last two years most of those concerns should be put at ease. This is at least a start to getting KC to be a competitor in 2017, maintaining your best players like Feilhaber his key.

Controversy Takes Center Stage, But Finishing Haunts KC in Playoff Loss

For the third straight year, Sporting Kansas City bowed out of the playoffs at the first hurdle, losing 1-0 on the road to the Seattle Sounders in the Western Conference wild card round. It was a return to old nightmares for Kansas City fans as the Sounders scored another late goal to lift them to the win over KC. The goal, and game as a whole was not without controversy as Seattle's game winning goal scorer, Nelson Valdez was shown to be offside. Meanwhile earlier in the game on a much tighter call Matt Besler had a goal (rightly) ruled out due to an offside call. Trying not to be a story in the game, referee Ismael Elfath and his assistants became a story of the game as well for fouls and cards not given.

For all the refereeing issues though, Sporting's struggles to find the back of the net cost them just as much as they controlled the play and couldn't capitalize on the chances that they created. KC started the game flying, pinning the Sounders back in their own end with high pressure. Capitalizing on the mistakes, KC created a number of chances for themselves, but were denied by Stefan Frei or the post. A couple of those chances fell to Paulo Nagamura who was playing as high as Benny Feilhaber much of the game. Both times Frei made a diving save to deny Nagamura. The second time the rebound fell to Graham Zusi who fired a shot to the far post, but the ball hit the post and bounced back into play. After the early run by KC, Seattle started to come into the game more and were able to pin Kansas City back in their end, some good footwork along the end line after a corner almost allowed Nicolas Lodeiro to create an own goal. Collecting a pass out wide he cut inside on the KC defense, dribbled along the end line and hit a shot off Matt Besler that wrong-footed Tim Melia, but the KC goalkeeper was able to stop the ball with his foot and recover. KC had another effort that Nagamura cleared off the line, but was called back on a foul by Chad Marshall, but Seattle was certainly in control of the match for the middle of the first half.

The half then turned again though as KC took over again for the final portion of the half. KC continued to create chances and forced another good save out of Frei during this stretch as a Benny Feilhaber free kick was flicked on goal by Kevin Ellis but Frei made a diving save to tip the ball away and keep the game scoreless as the teams headed into the break.

The second half saw Kansas City continue to be the more aggressive side as they tried to capitalize on all their play. For a split second they thought they had in the 52nd minute when Besler headed a free kick past Frei and into the net but Besler was slightly ahead of the last defender and was correctly ruled offside. Seattle had their chances too as Roman Torres missed the goal by inches on a Seattle free kick as Melia scrambled across his goal to cover the far post where Torres had made his run.

The chippiness of the game reached a tipping point around the 70th minute when Sporting KC was breaking on the counter through Feilhaber. Sounders captain Osvaldo Alonso came sliding through Feilhaber to break up the counter, taking Feilhaber out in the process. Right in front of the Kansas City bench, Peter Vermes and his staff were furiously wanting a second yellow card for Alonso on the play to send him off, but Ismael Elfath didn't see anything wrong with the challenge. Seconds later after Feilhaber returned to the field he was given a yellow card by Elfath after he berated the referee before a goal kick, Feilhaber had to be pushed away by Graham Zusi and other teammates. The incident seemed to fire Feilhaber up more, which was helped as he was rained with boos by Seattle fans every time he touched the ball the rest of the game. Feilhaber though put Kansas City on his back last night and almost scored a wonder goal, beating a number of Seattle defenders as he slalomed through the Seattle defense before hitting a shot with the outside of his right foot that Frei had to knock away.

Unfortunately for KC, something that has been the story over the years has been an inability to capitalize on chances and made to pay for it. Seattle did just that. Kansas City had started to sit a little deeper looking to get to extra time and Seattle pushed forward. After a ball was partially cleared to Joevin Jones, the outside back got into the box and fired a ball across the face of goal that Valdez headed past Melia. Replays showed that Valdez was as far, if not further offside than Besler had been earlier in the night, but the assistant referee kept his flag down as Seattle and their fans celebrated.

After the goal Kansas City threw numbers forward trying desperately to find an equalizer, but Seattle's defense packed in and held firm keeping Kansas City from getting any clear looks on goal. When the final whistle blew, Feilhaber again had to be restrained as he again gave Elfath a piece of his mind before leaving the field. Another disappointing end to the season for Kansas City as they couldn't get past the Sounders despite out playing them for long stretches.

Wizards Man of the Match - Benny Feilhaber - Feilhaber may have either sealed himself a new deal, or SKC will earn themselves some very, very upset fans if they don't re-sign Feilhaber. Last night Feilhaber was on the top of his game, in the form that he was throughout his MVP finalist season last year. The only thing that was missing for him was a goal scorer that could put away the chances he created. With Dwyer blanketed by Torres and Marshall, KC's lack of a second option for Feilhaber to work with kept KC off the board.

Player Ratings - Melia 6, Sinovic 7, Ellis 7, Besler 6, Abdul-Salaam 6, Mustivar 6, Nagamura 6, Feilhaber 9, Espinoza 6, Dwyer 5, Zusi 5. Subs Medranda NR, Peterson NR.

S.A.S. Monday After Stats

Matt Besler made his 200th league appearance for KC, he's the 7th player to hit that mark.

Besler also tied Chris Klein for 6th all time in league appearances with his 200th appearance.

Besler made his 230th start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Preki for 4th all time on that list.

At 33 years, 235 days, Paulo Nagamura passed Josh Wolff and became the 16th oldest player to start a game for KC in both league and all competitions.

Graham Zusi's goal was his 18th in all competitions at home for KC, breaking his tie with CJ Sapong for 9th on that list. It also broke his tie with Digital Takawira for 9th all time for home league goals scored.

Benny Feilhaber's goal was his 28th in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with CJ Sapong for 11th on that list.

Feilhaber's assist was his 50th for KC in all competitions, he's the fourth player to hit that mark.

Feilhaber's goal was his 17th in all competitions for KC, tying him with Sapong for 10th all time on that list. It was Feilhaber's 15th goal in league play for KC, tying him with Takawira for 10th on that list.

At 31 years, 278 days, Feilhaber moved past Santiago Hirsig and Birahim Diop to become the 17th oldest goal scorer for KC in league play. In all competitions he moved past those two, and Mike Burns to move into 17th on that list.

Feilhaber made his 120th league appearance for KC, breaking his tie with Diego Gutierrez and Uche Okafor for 20th on that list.

Feilhaber started his 110th league game for KC, tying him with Jose Burciaga for 19th on that list.

Roger Espinoza made his 183rd appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Matt McKeon for 10th all time on that list.

In the 73rd minute, Seth Sinovic moved past Mo Johnston and into 13th place for minutes played in all competitions, finishing the game with 14,200 minutes played.

Sinovic made his 165th appearance in all competitions, tying him with Josh Wolff for 15th all time on that list.

Sinovic started his 128th league game for KC, tying him with Wolff, Michael Harrington and Jimmy Nielsen for 12th on that list.

Sinovic and Espinoza made their 159th start in all competitions for KC, tying them with McKeon for 10th all time on that list.

Tim Melia and Soni Mustivar made their 50th league appearances for KC, they're the 57th and 58th players to hit that mark.

Melia made his 50th league start for KC, he's the 50th player to hit that mark.

Sporting Clinch Playoff Spot

Sporting Kansas City punched their ticket to the MLS Cup playoffs with a convincing 2-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes at Children's Mercy Park. With the way other results went today that slide them into the fifth seed and will now see them travel to Seattle on Thursday for a match up with the Seattle Sounders.

While Kansas City controlled the early going, it was the Earthquakes who had the first really good chance just 10 minutes in when a poor pass by Soni Mustivar led to a fast break for the Earthquakes. KC was saved though when Matt Besler cut down the angle on Chris Wondolowski and was able to eventually block an effort on goal in the three on three situation. KC almost paid again for not captializing on all their pressure in the 24th minute when Tim Melia made a save on a shot, but couldn't cover the rebound, Wondolowski collected and Melia pushed wide of his goal pressuring the San Jose captain. Eventually Melia got Wondolowski to retreat outside his box where he crossed a ball towards the back post that was headed towards to middle but eventually headed out for a corner by Kevin Ellis. KC was living extremely dangerous as they failed to capitalize on their possession. Minutes later Kansas City had the chance to take the lead from the spot after a hand ball in the box after a long throw in was flicked on by Ellis. Benny Feilhaber stepped up and coolly slotted his penalty kick into the corner to give Kansas City a 1-0 lead. Kansas City was able to take that lead into the half time break and with the Portland Timbers down 2-0 in Vancouver, Sporting looked well on their way to clinching a playoff berth.

The second half saw the Earthquakes continue to find chances off of mistakes by Kansas City. In the 79th, another Mustivar give away led to another fast break for the Quakes, but Wondolowski headed a cross over the bar after the cross in was a little high. Going the other way, KC continued to search for that insurance goal to secure their playoff berth. They had to wait until late on to get it when Feilhaber found Graham Zusi racing down the wing unmarked. Feilhaber played Zusi into the box where the US international fired the shot past David Bingham and into the net to give KC the 2-0 lead that was more than enough to see off the Earthquakes.

Wizards Man of the Match - Benny Feilhaber - A goal and an assist in what could have been Feilhaber's last game at Children's Mercy Park, Feilhaber pulled the strings on the offense quite well helping Sporting control the game against the Earthquakes.

Honorable Mention: Matt Besler

Player Ratings: Melia 7, Sinovic 7, Besler 8, Ellis 7, Abdul-Salaam 7, Mustivar 5, Nagamura 6, Feilhaber 8, Espinoza 7, Dwyer 6, Zusi 7. Subs Opara NR, Medranda NR.

Sunday Of Stats

Paulo Nagamura started his 100th game across all competitiosn for KC, he's the 31st player to hit that mark.

Matt Besler made his 229th start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Jimmy Conrad for 5th place on that list and tying him with Preki for 4th place on that list.

In the 18th minute, Benny Feilhaber moved past Uche Okafor and into 20th place for minutes played in league play, he finished the game with 9,585 minutes played.

Feilhaber made his 143rd appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Jimmy Nielsen and CJ Sapong for 20th on that list.

Feilhaber started his 109th game in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Diego Gutierrez for 20th on that list.

In the 29th minute Roger Espinoza moved past Mo Johnston and into 11th place for minutes played across all competitions. Then in the 52nd minute, Espinoza moved past Tony Meola and into 11th place on that same list, he finished the game with 14,244 minutes played.

Espinoza and Seth Sinovic made their 158th start in all competitions for KC, breaking their tie with Mo Johnston for 11th all time on that list.

Sinovic started his 127th league game for KC, breaking his tie with Matt McKeon for 15th on that list.

Sunday After Stats

Paulo Nagamura made his 250th league appearance of his MLS career.

Dom Dwyer's goal was his 23rd away from home in all competitions for KC, tying him with Josh Wolff for the second most all time for KC.

Benny Feilhaber's assist was his 36th for KC, breaking his tie with Davy Arnaud for 4th all time on that list.

In the 45th minute, Feilhaber moved ahead of Aurelien Collin and into 20th place for minutes played in all competitions for KC, he finished the game with 11,502 minutes played.

Feilhaber made his 142nd appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Jimmy Nielsen and CJ Sapong for 20th on that list.

Feilhaber also made his 108th league start for KC, tying him with Diego Gutierrez for 20th on that list.

Saad Abdul-Salaam and Ike Opara both made their 50th league appearance for KC, they're the 55th and 56th players to hit that mark.

Sunday After Stats

Dom Dwyer's goal was his 15th of the season, tying Eddie Johnson in 2007 as the third most in a single season for KC.

Benny Feilhaber's two assists gave him 35 for his career for KC in league play, tying him with Davy Arnaud for 4th all time.

Feilhaber made his 130th start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Aurelien Collin for 20th all time on that list.

Kevin Ellis made his 50th league start for KC, he's the 49th player to hit that mark.

Roger Espinoza made his 157th start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Tony Meola for 13th and moving him into a tie with Mo Johnston and Seth Sinovic for 11th all time on that list.

Sunday of Stats

Lots of stats from today's game, lots of landmarks hit.

Dom Dwyer's goal was his 50th league goal for KC, he's only the second player to hit that mark for KC.

In the 62nd minute, Dwyer hit 10,000 minutes played for KC in all competitions, becoming the 24th player to hit that mark.

In the 20th minute, Matt Besler moved past Preki and into 4th place for minutes played in all competitions for KC, he finished the game with 20,708 minutes played.

Besler made his 236th appearance in all competitions, breaking his tie with Chris Klein for 5th all time on that list.

Besler started his 228th game in all competitions for KC, tying him with Jimmy Conrad for 5th all time on that list.

Jacob Peterson's goal for Kansas City was the 1,100th in all competitions for KC.

His goal was his 13th league goal for KC, tying him with Matt McKeon, Jose Burciaga, Sasha Victorine, and Claudio Lopez for 19th all time on that list.

Peterson's goal was his 8th at home in league play for KC, tying him with Lopez, Burciaga, and Teal Bunbury for 20th on that list.

In the 47th minute, Roger Espinoza again moved past Seth Sinovic and into 13th place for minutes played in all competitions, he finished the game with 14,064 minutes played.

Roger Espinoza started his 156th game in all competitions for KC, tying him with Tony Meola for 13th all time on that list.

Benny Feilhaber started his 129th game in all competitions for KC, tying him with Aurelien Collin for 20th on that list.

Soni Mustivar made his 50th start in all competitions for KC, he's the 57th player to hit that mark.

Landon Donovan's goal was his 14th in league play against KC, tying him with Jason Kreis as the 2nd leading scorer all time against KC.

Italian Media Reporting Rossi Close to Completing Deal with KC

Last week it was confirmed that former Juventus youth player and former Italian youth international, Fausto Rossi was in Kansas City for a trial with Sporting KC. The 25 year old never played for the "Old Lady" but consistently played while loaned to teams in Spain and Italy over his time under contract with Juventus.

Italian media have been all over the speculative move, and Rossi's Twitter post showing him at Sporting KC's game vs the Houston Dynamo on Friday certainly helped to fuel it. Now over the last two days Italian media have really started to run with a potential contract Rossi will sign with the club. According to Tutto Mercato Web, Sporting KC and Rossi have agreed in principle to a three year contract with the club. The information was expanded upon Grazza Mercato which reported that along with the three year deal, Rossi's contract would be for €300,000, or about $336,000. What that means, if true is that Rossi's deal wouldn't be a designated player, which would technically still leave a spot open for Sporting KC to use elsewhere on the field.

The big question with this signing though would be what it would mean for the future of Benny Feilhaber with the club. There's been plenty of rumors lately of Feilhaber's departure and the possibility of him signing a pre-contract with a new club since he's in the final six months of his contract. And while I don't doubt that there is certainly some interest in Feilhaber I'm sure there's plenty of player/agent posturing in the stories that have come out regarding the interest in Feilhaber as well.

Both stories certainly are not done and will have a few more turns in them before they are.

More on Rejected Feilhaber Transfer

Last week news came out that reigning Israel Premier League champions, Hapoel Be'er Sheva had made an offer to Sporting Kansas City for midfielder Benny Feilhaber. The club rejected the offer for Feilhaber who is in the last year of his contract with Sporting Kansas City.

Tonight before the US game against Trinidad and Tobago Grant Wahl had some further information regarding the offer that Be'er Sheva made for Feilhaber. According to Wahl, the offer for Feilhaber was around $500,000. The key to remember with this is that Feilhaber is currently in the final few months of his deal, and since he's in the final six months of his contract he is free to sign a pre-contract with any club ahead of his contract with Sporting KC expiring. So if Feilhaber really does want to go to Israel, he could sign a pre-contract with Hapoel Be'er Sheva at any time and be well within his rights as a player.

You can't blame Sporting Kansas City for rejecting the offer though, selling Feilhaber would be the club waving the white flag on the 2016 season and be a direct sign the club is looking towards 2017 and beyond. At the same time, without a ready made replacement for Feilhaber on the team and Feilhaber having arguably been KC's best and most consistent performer over the last couple seasons would lead to a bit of a fan revolt. That said it is also similar to the Roger Espinoza situation from 2012 when Sporting KC had offers for the midfielder, but chose to hang onto him and retain his MLS rights for the future instead of selling him.

With Feilhaber in the last year of his contract, the offer from Be'er Sheva was always going to be low, because they could try to get him on a free transfer in January if they wanted to. But even if KC had accepted the offer, they wouldn't have gotten all $500,000. Per MLS rules, Sporting KC would have only gotten two-thirds of that transfer fee, so about $333,333. Because that fee is below the maximum allocation allowed of $650,000, Sporting could have used their portion of the transfer fee as allocation money. While the club could have used that money to buy down contracts for the coming year, it probably wouldn't have been worth the loss of Feilhaber on the field, especially if the club still feels confident of retaining his services after this season.

Feilhaber Linked With Move to Israel

The transfer rumors, whether real or fake continue to roll around regarding the departure of players from Sporting Kansas City for Europe. The latest rumor has Sporting KC midfielder, and 2015 MVP finalist, Benny Feilhaber linked with a move to Israel. Israeli media outlet, Sport 5 is reporting that Hapoel Beer Sheva is interested in the Sporting midfielder.

According to reporter, Raphael Gellar, the defending Israeli Premier League champions offered a three year deal, but Sporting KC rejected the offer. He also started that the 31 year old Feilhaber had wanted to come play in Israel. Feilhaber, who has been a key part of Sporting KC since being acquired by the club before the 2013 season is in the final year of his contract. With that in mind, the offer was probably not a huge offer, but if Feilhaber is really interested in moving abroad against he only has a couple months left on his deal and could move for a free in January. Feilhaber's Jewish heritage certainly would have some level of appeal to the Israeli club as well. Feilhaber joins a growing list of MLS players linked with a move to Israel in recent months, joining Steve Birnbaum and Daniel Steres as targets by Israeli clubs.

Feilhaber's departure was always a worry after this season for the club because of his performance over the last two years along with all the talk of wanting to make him a designated player. While his age will certainly play a factor if he were to stay in KC, he could probably make more money on a deal in Israel if he feels that KC isn't offering him what he is worth. On Sporting's side of things, the club has been linked with a few attacking midfielders over the last transfer window, including Sebastian Blanco and Benjamin Corgnet, potentially looking for a future replacement for Feilhaber should the club be unable to re-sign him.

Sunday After Stats

Matt Besler made his 195th league appearance for KC, tying him with Jack Jewsbury for 7th all time on that list.

Jacob Peterson tied a career high for league goals in a season with 4. He'd previously hit that total in 2007 and 2012.

Peterson's goal was his 6th league game winner for KC, tying him with 5 players for 11th all time on that list.

It was his 7th game winner in all competitions, tying him with 2 players for 13th all time on that list.

Benny Feilhaber's goal was his 27th in all competitions for KC, tying him with CJ Sapong for 11th all time on that list.

At 21 years, 214 days, Feilhaber became the 19th oldest goal scorer for KC in league play, moving past Omar Bravo.

He also knocked Bravo out of the top 20 for oldest goal scorer in all competitions, taking Bravo's place at number 20.

Feilhaber's goal was his 14th at home in league play for KC, tying him with Jimmy Conrad for 11th all time on that list.

It was his 16th at home in all competitions, tying him with Digital Takawira for 11th all time on that list as well.

Sporting Climb the Table

Sporting got some help from other results around the league before they took on the Vancouver Whitecaps late at Children's Mercy Park, and took full advantage claiming a 2-0 win over Vancouver to push them up into fourth place in the Western Conference.

Kansas City controlled the first half of play keeping the Whitecaps pinned back in their own end for long stretches. Just four minutes in Nuno Coelho curled a free kick just wide of the near post, although it appeared that Dave Oustad had the chance covered. In the 19th minute, Brad Davis rung the cross bar with a curling effort after a short corner that had beaten Oustad. Unfortunately the rebound couldn't be turned in by anyone for KC. A dominating half looked like it may be for not until the 39th minute when KC finally ended their long run of corner kicks without a goal. Benny Feilhaber drove the ball into the box where Coelho volleyed his effort on net. Jacob Peterson was standing in front of Oustad and redirected the shot past a diving Oustad and into the net to put KC up 1-0 heading into the half time break.

Early in the second half the Whitecaps had their best chance of the game on a header by Giles Barnes. Former KC defender Marcel de Jong got forward and had a cross into the box partially deflected by Graham Zusi. The ball fell to Barnes who beat Kevin Ellis in the air and got a header on target, but Alec Kann reacted very well and tipped it over the cross bar. Minutes later the Whitecaps again threatened in the air, this time on a corner, but Kann caught Kendall Waston's header easily. In the 62nd minute though Kansas City won themselves a penalty kick as Peterson was taken down in the box after a good one-two between him and Feilhaber. Feilhaber stepped up for his penalty duties but Oustad guessed right and easily saved Feilhaber's attempt. Fortunately for Kansas City though the linesman correctly raised his flag as Oustad was well off his line before Feilhaber took his kick. With a second bite of the cherry, Feilhaber made no mistake and even though Oustad guessed right again and got a hand on it but it wasn't enough to keep Feilhaber's effort out and put KC up 2-0. In the 75th KC probably should have made it 3-0 when Oustad could only push away a low cross by Zusi into the path of Davis who collected it and turned to shoot but had his effort saved by Oustad. Oustad was again called on in the 86th on a curling effort by Peterson that he could only palm away for a corner. The Whitecaps got forward late but really failed to trouble Kann any more in KC's net as Sporting won their sixth straight at home.

Wizards Man of the Match - Jacob Peterson - Continues to prove himself to be "The Answer" Kansas City needs on the wing to help take some pressure off of Dom Dwyer. His first goal was his fourth of the season, tying his MLS career high that he set in 2012 and in his rookie year in 2007. He also won the penalty kick that iced the game for Kansas City.

Player Ratings - Kann 7, Medranda 7, Ellis 7, Besler 7, Zusi 7, Coelho 6, Espinoza 7, Feilhaber 7, Peterson 8, Dwyer 5, Davis 6. Subs Mustivar 6, Abdul-Salaam 6, Nagamura 5.

S.A.S. Monday After Stats - Century Edition

A lot of century marks hit in yesterday's game for Sporting KC.

Peter Vermes earned his 100th league win as Sporting's coach. He's the sixth MLS coach to hit that mark and the first KC coach to do it.

Jacob Peterson made his 100th league appearance for KC, he's the 32nd player to hit that mark.

Benny Feilhaber started his 100th league game for KC, he's the 24th player to hit that mark.

In the 18th minute, Roger Espinoza moved past Michael Harrington and into 11th place on the list of league minutes played, he finished the game with 11,706 minutes played.

Espinoza started his 150th game in all competitions, he's the 14th player to hit that mark.